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A Raisin in the Sun

February 25th through March 21st

The City Theatre

The City Theatre Company stages Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun as part of Black History month to mark the 50th anniversary of the show’s groundbreaking Broadway opening. Directed by Lisa Jordan, the production runs February 25th through March 21nd at The City Theatre.

Called “a milestone in American theatre” when it debuted in 1959, the production was lauded by The New York Times as a show that “changed American theater forever.” For the first time in history, a Broadway production hailed an all-black principal cast, a black director and a black playwright. Its 29-year-old author became the youngest American - and the first black playwright - to win the New York Drama Critics’ “Best Play of the Year” citation.

For the play’s story, Hansberry drew from an incident in her own childhood that profoundly affected her family’s life. In defiance of real estate contracts of that era that barred blacks from certain neighborhoods, her father moved his family to an all-white area. Mobs gathered outside the new home, and eight-year-old Lorraine was almost struck by a brick hurled through a window.

The family was finally evicted, but Carl Hansberry and NAACP lawyers fought the state court decision - all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court - ultimately winning a landmark decision prohibiting restrictive housing. Hansberry would later write “It will help a lot of people understand that we have among our downtrodden ranks people who are the very essence of human dignity. That is what – after all the laughter and the tears – the play is supposed to say.”

The original film version of the play starred Sidney Poitier. A recent revival on Broadway, which was also filmed, starred Phylicia Rashad and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

The city Theatre cast features Michelle Alexander (Lean Younger), McArthur Moore (Walter Lee Younger), Kristen Bennett (Ruth), Jessica Bacon (Beneatha), Richard Romeo (Joseph Asagai, Bobo), Brandon Balque (George Murchison), Tre’ Whitney (Travis), Whitney Burleson (Mrs. Johnson), and Gabriel Smith (Karl Linder). The production is co-designed by Andy Berkovsky and Daniel LeFave, with costumes by Jessi Brill and Bert Flanagan.

Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. General admission tickets range from $15 to $20, with $25 reserved front row seats. Student tickets are $12, and all seats on Thursdays are $10.

The City Theatre is located at 3823 Airport Blvd., on the east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street. For reservations and information, call (512) 524-2870 or visit online at www.CityTheatreAustin.org.




A Raisin in the Sun February 25th through March 21st The City Theatre The City Theatre Company stages Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun as part of Black History month to mark the 50th anniversary of the show’s groundbreaking Broadway opening. Directed by Lisa Jordan, the production runs February 25th through March 21nd at The City Theatre. Called “a milestone in American theatre” when it debuted in 1959, the production was lauded by The New York Times as a show that “changed American theater forever.” For the first time in history, a Broadway production hailed an all-black principal cast, a black director and a black playwright. Its 29-year-old author became the youngest American - and the first black playwright - to win the New York Drama Critics’ “Best Play of the Year” citation. For the play’s story, Hansberry drew from an incident in her own childhood that profoundly affected her family’s life. In defiance of real estate contracts of that era that barred blacks from certain neighborhoods, her father moved his family to an all-white area. Mobs gathered outside the new home, and eight-year-old Lorraine was almost struck by a brick hurled through a window. The family was finally evicted, but Carl Hansberry and NAACP lawyers fought the state court decision - all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court - ultimately winning a landmark decision prohibiting restrictive housing. Hansberry would later write “It will help a lot of people understand that we have among our downtrodden ranks people who are the very essence of human dignity. That is what – after all the laughter and the tears – the play is supposed to say.” The original film version of the play starred Sidney Poitier. A recent revival on Broadway, which was also filmed, starred Phylicia Rashad and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. The city Theatre cast features Michelle Alexander (Lean Younger), McArthur Moore (Walter Lee Younger), Kristen Bennett (Ruth), Jessica Bacon (Beneatha), Richard Romeo (Joseph Asagai, Bobo), Brandon Balque (George Murchison), Tre’ Whitney (Travis), Whitney Burleson (Mrs. Johnson), and Gabriel Smith (Karl Linder). The production is co-designed by Andy Berkovsky and Daniel LeFave, with costumes by Jessi Brill and Bert Flanagan. Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 5:30 p.m. General admission tickets range from $15 to $20, with $25 reserved front row seats. Student tickets are $12, and all seats on Thursdays are $10. The City Theatre is located at 3823 Airport Blvd., on the east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street. For reservations and information, call (512) 524-2870 or visit online at www.CityTheatreAustin.org.

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